Baba UmarUnited Nations: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has addressed the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), telling world leaders how his country fought India in May and reminding them about the horrors in Palestine's Gaza, the Kashmir dispute, and climate crisis battering the South Asian nation.
PM Sharif, who began his address with the Quranic verses on Friday, said his warning in 2024 UNGA speech that Pakistan would act decisively against "external aggression" has proven true. He asserted that his country was confronted with "unprovoked aggression" from India earlier this year, to which, he said, Pakistan responded as destiny dictated.
"[India] enemy came shrouded in arrogance, we sent them back in humiliation, delivering a bloody nose," he said.
"India sought to extract political gains from human tragedy, by spurning our sincere offer of international probe into Pahalgam incident, instead it attacked our cities and innocent civilians," he said.
"When our territorial integrity was violated, our forces mounted an operation of stunning professionalism, repulsing enemy attacks, and resulting in seven Indian jets turned into scrap and dust."
At least 26 people, mostly Indian tourists, were killed when gunmen opened fire in Pahalgam, a tourist site in Indian-administered Kashmir.
India immediately blamed Pakistan for the attack. Islamabad denied the allegations and offered to cooperate with an international investigation, which New Delhi rejected.
The two countries engaged in a four-day conflict involving missiles, drones, and fighter jets, which ceased only after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire that he claimed to have brokered.
Pakistan has nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. However, India asserts that the US President had no involvement in the cessation of hostilities.
Kashmir and Palestine
Sharif, meanwhile, told the UNGA that Pakistan will continue to stand with the people of Kashmir.
"One day soon, India's tyranny in Kashmir will come to a grinding halt, and Kashmir will gain its fundamental right to self-determination through plebiscite via the UN resolutions," he said.
He also pushed for Palestine to be "liberated" from the Israeli occupation, asserting that "it can't remain under shackles of Israel". His speech notably followed Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's address to the UNGA.
"Israel's genocidal onslaught in Gaza has unleashed unspeakable terror, in a manner we have not witnessed in the annals of history," he added.
Sharif said words fail to capture the tragedy of Palestinian child Hind Rajab.
"Our words are too little, too late for Hind Rajab, a child, a little baby. We have all heard her trembling voice on that phone call which little Hind made as she struggled to stay alive under Israeli onslaught and atrocities," he said.
"Can you imagine that little girl Hind Rajab, as if she was our daughter? Can you imagine not having the compassion to spare her life and the agony of the entire Muslims. I think the agony of all the nations on the planet is that we failed."
"Rajab will not forgive us in this world and the world hereafter, as they say, ladies and gentlemen, the smallest coffins are the heaviest to carry."
He sought to draw a similarity between Rajab and a Pakistani boy he said was killed in Indian attacks.
"I, for one would know, for I too carried the tiny coffin of Abbas during the recent confrontation with India. He was only 6-years-old. Therefore, we cannot, and we must not fail these children of Gaza or any child anywhere in the world."
Pakistan firmly supports the demand of the Palestinian people for the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders and al Qudus Sharif [Jerusalem] as its capital.
He appreciated President Trump's UN initiative for Arab-Islamic states, saying it should foster a near ceasefire in Gaza, "for which the credit must again be attributed to President Trump for this peace initiative."
Climate crisis
Sharif condemned Israeli attacks on Qatar, saying "Pakistan stands unwaveringly with our brothers and sisters in Qatar."
Pakistani PM said his country lost 90,000 people in terrorism, including infants, children and the elderly, and incurred a $150 billion economic setback.
"I believe a man killed in New York is a man killed in Lahore. A man killed in Islamabad is a man killed in London. It's a global village, so I think unless terrorism is defeated hands down the world will not be a peaceful place to live, and for that Pakistan's sacrifices are probably the biggest around the globe," he said.
He said Pakistan is facing an "externally sponsored terrorism", naming TTP, Fitna ul Hindustan BLA, and the Majeed Brigade that he said " is operating from Afghan soil."
"These groups are responsible for some of the most heinous attacks inside Pakistan, including the dastardly Jaffar Express train incident earlier this year," he said.
Sharif noted Pakistan's climate crisis impact from recent floods, despite minimal carbon emissions role.
"How can you expect a country which is a developing country facing humongous flood challenges every year due to climate change and no fault of ours, and yet we are told to borrow more loans that would be destroying your economy," he said.
Recent diplomatic feats
On Thursday, Sharif met with US President Trump at the White House to discuss bilateral ties and how to end Israel's war on Gaza.
Sharif, along with army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, met Trump, further indicating warming relations with the US, which had been strained under the previous Biden administration.
Sharif's talk, notably with President Trump, covered the Middle East, where Pakistan's influence is growing.
Sharif has "lauded President Trump's efforts to bring about an immediate end to the war in Gaza".
Sharif attended a meeting of leaders from Muslim-majority countries with Trump at the UNGA earlier this week.
According to US envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump presented a 21-point Middle East peace plan, expressing confidence in a potential "breakthrough".
Pakistan recently formalised a defence pact with Saudi Arabia amid regional concerns about threats from Israel.
Pakistan is the sole Muslim-majority country with nuclear arms and possesses the largest military among them.
